Respite Care in Illinois: A 2026 Guide for Family Caregivers

Illinois family caregivers have access to funded respite they rarely hear about, from Community Care Program hours to free grants through 13 Area Agencies on Aging. Knowing where to ask is most of the work.

Caregiving without a break does not make you a better caregiver. It makes you a depleted one. Federal health data show caregivers fare worse than non-caregivers across most health indicators: nearly 1 in 5 caregivers reports fair or poor health, and depression runs roughly twice as high among caregivers as in the general population. Respite is not abandonment. It is the thing that makes sustained care possible.1

What Respite Care Actually Does

Most family caregivers in Illinois wait until they are in crisis before they ask for respite. By then the physical and emotional cost is already high. Planned respite, even a few hours a week of in-home care, an adult day program two days a week, or a one-week facility stay while you recover from surgery, is the infrastructure that makes long-term caregiving sustainable.

If you need emergency respite right now, call the Illinois Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966 or dial 211. The rest of this guide is for families who want to plan ahead.2

Funded Respite Care Options in Illinois

1. Community Care Program (CCP) In-Home Respite

What it is: The Illinois Community Care Program provides in-home services for Medicaid-eligible adults age 60 and older who need help with daily activities. Authorized hours can include respite care, delivered by a licensed home care aide through a CCP-contracted provider agency.2

Can a family member be the respite worker? CCP In-Home Service providers may hire family members, including adult children and other relatives, and even a spouse in some cases, if that person meets the provider's qualifications, passes a background check, and completes 24 hours of pre-service training. Not every CCP provider hires family; ask your Care Coordination Unit (CCU) to identify a provider in your area that does.

Eligibility: Your loved one must be age 60 or older, an Illinois resident, and have non-exempt assets of $17,500 or less (the home, car, and personal furnishings do not count). A Care Coordination Unit (CCU) also completes a Determination of Need (DON) assessment, and a score of 29 or higher is required to enroll. These figures can change, so confirm the current asset limit and DON threshold with your CCU before you count your family in or out.5

How to access: Contact your local Care Coordination Unit through the Illinois Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966. The CCU assesses need and authorizes the service hours, including respite.2

Best for: Families already in the CCP or applying for it.

2. NFCSP Grants Through Illinois's 13 Area Agencies on Aging

What it is: The National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), funded by Title III-E of the Older Americans Act, flows through the Illinois Department on Aging to 11 regional Area Agencies on Aging. Each AAA provides some combination of in-home respite, adult day cost offsets, caregiver training, individual counseling, and supplemental services.2

The Illinois Department on Aging Caregiver Support Program is the state-level structure that coordinates NFCSP services and additional state-funded caregiver supports through the AAA network.2

Who qualifies: Family caregivers of adults age 60 and older; grandparent and relative caregivers of children under 18; caregivers of any age caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia. No income test for NFCSP respite services.

What it covers: In-home respite hours, adult day vouchers, emergency respite, and other supports depending on the AAA. Specific dollar caps and available services vary by region.

How to access: Call the Illinois Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966 to be connected with your regional AAA. You can also use the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116.2

Best for: Any Illinois family caregiver, regardless of income or whether your loved one is on Medicaid. This is the most commonly overlooked source of free respite in Illinois.

3. Illinois Home Services Program (HSP) Respite

What it is: The Illinois Home Services Program, run by the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS) within the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), provides personal care and homemaker services for adults with physical disabilities. Authorized service hours can include respite.2

Eligibility: Adults age 18 and older with a physical disability that prevents self-care, who meet financial and functional criteria. HSP does not require age 60+, unlike CCP.

How to access: Apply through DORS. Your Care Manager determines eligibility and authorizes service hours.

Best for: Families caring for an adult with a physical disability who is not age 60 and therefore not eligible for the CCP.

4. Adult Day Services

What they are: Licensed adult day programs provide structured daytime programming in a community setting, typically 4 to 8 hours per day. Programs include meals, activities, social engagement, and varying levels of nursing care. For caregivers of people with dementia, an adult day program can be especially valuable: it gives the care recipient structure and social contact during the day while returning consistent weekday hours to the caregiver.

Finding programs: The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) licenses adult day care centers statewide. Your local AAA maintains a county-level directory. Call the Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966 for referrals in your area.2

Who pays:

• NFCSP grants through your AAA can offset adult day costs.
• CCP covers some adult day health services for eligible enrollees; confirm with your CCU.
• Long-term care insurance often covers adult day under the HCBS rider.
• Private pay is the default. Nationally, adult day services run a median of about $95 per day, or roughly $24,700 a year at five days a week; Illinois rates vary by program and region, so contact individual centers for current pricing.6

Best for: Caregivers who need consistent weekday respite and care recipients who benefit from socialization and structured activity.

5. VA Respite for Veterans

What it is: Veterans enrolled in VA health care can access respite through their local VA medical center, including in-home aide services, adult day health programs, and short-term placement in VA Community Living Centers or contracted facilities.

PCAFC: Primary Family Caregivers in the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers receive respite care as part of the benefit package; confirm the authorized days and any co-pay with your VA Caregiver Support Coordinator.

How to access: Call the VA Caregiver Support Line at 1-855-260-3274 (staffed Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern) or contact the Caregiver Support Coordinator at your nearest Illinois VA medical center. Major VA facilities in Illinois include the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center (Chicago), the Hines VA Hospital, and the Marion VA Medical Center.3

Best for: Families of veterans enrolled in VA health care, especially those in PCAFC.

6. Short-Term Facility Respite and Emergency Respite

Short-term facility respite places the care recipient in an assisted living community or nursing facility for a few days to several weeks. Many Illinois assisted living facilities offer short-stay arrangements; call facilities in your area for current pricing and availability.

Emergency respite is available for sudden caregiver crises. Call the Illinois Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966 or 211 as a first step. AAAs in many Illinois regions maintain emergency respite funds through NFCSP.2

Who pays: Short-term facility respite is typically private pay unless NFCSP funds apply or the care recipient's Medicaid plan covers inpatient respite in the authorized care plan.

What Will Respite Care Cost in Illinois?

The question behind the question is almost always money, and the honest answer is that what you pay depends entirely on which door you walk through. For most Illinois caregivers, the funded doors cost little or nothing.

• NFCSP respite is free. Grants distributed by your Area Agency on Aging carry no income test for respite. You pay nothing up to the per-AAA cap, and how large that cap is varies by region.2
• CCP cost follows the assessment. For the Community Care Program, any cost-share is tied to your loved one's Determination of Need (DON) and financial assessment, so the Care Coordination Unit sets it case by case. Because roughly three in four CCP customers are Medicaid-eligible, most families in the program pay nothing out of pocket.5
• Private-pay adult day is the benchmark to anchor on. If you pay out of pocket for adult day services, the national median is about $95 per day, or roughly $24,700 a year at five days a week. That figure is a national benchmark; actual Illinois rates vary by program and region.6

Before you decide respite is out of reach, call your AAA. The programs above exist precisely so that a break does not have to come out of your own savings.

How to Start Respite Care in Illinois

Key Illinois Respite Contacts

Learn More

Find personalized help navigating respite care options in Illinois at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.